[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 35 (Thursday, March 14, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E367-E368]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        RABBI ARTHUR SCHNEIER RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS VIENNA PRIZE

                                 ______


                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 14, 1996

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, next week, a truly extraordinary American 
will become only the second American in history to be awarded the 
Vienna Prize by the Dr. Karl Renner Foundation. In recognition of his 
lifelong efforts on behalf of the human rights of the citizens of the 
world, Rabbi Arthur Schneier will receive this coveted award and a 
grant of $20,000 from the mayor of Vienna, Dr. Michael Haupl.
  Rabbi Arthur Schneier is internationally known for his leadership on 
behalf of human rights and religious freedom. A group of distinguished 
citizens of Vienna, including the mayor, members of the city Senate, 
and prominent members of the community, have chosen Rabbi Schneier for 
this honor because he is an international role model for the promotion 
of democratic societies.
  Rabbi Schneier joins with President Vaclav Havel of Czechoslovakia as 
the only non-Austrians to receive this distinguished award. By virtue 
of his international standing, Rabbi Schneier, as with President Havel, 
has promoted the ideas of democracy and freedom to the furthest reaches 
of the globe.

[[Page E368]]

  As founder and president of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, 
Rabbi Schneier has met with Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Foreign 
Ministers, as well as religious leaders in the former Soviet Union, 
Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Albania, Romania, Argentina, Cuba, 
Israel, Egypt, Morocco, Bulgaria, Germany, England, Ireland, the 
Vatican, and Turkey.
  Since 1965, when he led a group of political and religious leaders 
for an Appeal of Conscience rally protesting religious repression in 
the Soviet Union, he has championed the cause of religious freedom 
around the world. After the 1965 rally, he established the Appeal of 
Conscience Foundation, which continues to this day to provide effective 
and influential leadership on behalf of human rights.

  The Appeal of Conscience Foundation and Rabbi Schneier have been 
involved in a wide range of the world's most intractable problems and 
most egregious human rights violations. From meeting with Foreign 
Minister Andrei Kozyrev to discuss United States-Russian relations to 
meetings with Presidents of Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia to discuss a 
lasting peace in that troubled region, Rabbi Schneier has taken it upon 
himself to provide inspirational and effective leadership that has won 
him worldwide praise, including the prestigious Vienna Prize.
  It brings me great pleasure to rise today to honor this exceptional 
religious leader on the occasion of his receiving this most deserved 
award. I invite my colleagues to join me in expressing our appreciation 
for his extraordinary efforts.

                          ____________________